Families First Area Review South West Sydney

Abstract

Families First is a New South Wales government initiative introduced progressively across the State over five years, from July 1999. The aim of Families First is to support families and communities to care for children. To achieve this, a prevention and early intervention approach is used to identify and support those children and families most likely to require further assistance. Drawing primarily on existing services and resources, the initiative is concerned with developing a coordinated network of services to link families to appropriate support. The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Evaluation Consortium was commissioned by The Cabinet Office (TCO) in NSW to conduct the Area Reviews of Families First. The Consortium consists of academics and representatives of a number of research centres and universities. The Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW manages the Consortium. This report presents the findings from the first Area Review in South West Sydney involving two sectors, Macarthur and Fairfield.